August reddit Prompts
by sweeety
Summary: More Reddit prompts. These are from this August's reddit prompt thread. These wont be connected with any other series or with each other and will feature some unique POV's. I wanted a bit of diversity this time around, and not just the same old characters. Though I'm gonna feature Paily though cause they're my babies.
1. You

You think you're so clever. You thought you could hide it all. That no one would be any wiser and that you could go on living your life, pretending everything is fine when it wasn't. You had no idea someone was watching you.

Not just watching but researching. The deepest recesses of your mind were open for picking. Every thought. Every whisper you thought was lost in the wind. How can you close the door after getting to know someone so intimately?

No wonder she came back. She couldn't just let you keep living that lie. She somehow fell in love with you. Not in a romantic way, no, that's sick, but she really felt something towards you akin to love. That's why she came back for you. Pity.

You were so pathetic you made your tormentor return out of pity.

She was done ruining your life. She had her fill and she got what she came for but you? You were so sad, throwing those puppy eyes around, and hoping no one noticed you, that you made Satan herself feel sorry for you. And sorry she was when she returned and found the state of you.

You could have at least pretended to be a little composed. Not like she called ahead and made an appointment but still, you must imagine the shock and disappointment she must've faced when she came back and found you barely hanging on by a thread… a very fine one. You couldn't even get the noose right. How pathetic.

You were right you know… You should have been the one they threw away, not her. She was resilient and strong. You fell apart at the slightest provocation. How embarassing must it have been to see the prodigal child fucking up something as simple as their suicide. You've heard stories of children as young as 12 succeeding at it.

But not Spencer Hastings.

No, you're too dumb to even get that right. Talk about missed opportunities; Cece should have drowned YOU in the bathtub. Sit back in your rocking chair and wallow in that for a couple seconds. How much easier life would be without you in it.

You should be glad you're so pathetic. You should be glad she took some pity on you. You should be glad she stepped right in for you and sorted things out.

You're sure that Emily will never find out it was really Wren and Alison that were the parents of those babies, but you're sure it wouldn't matter anyhow. Once all this is over you'll be dust in the wind anyway. You wonder how soon you can purchase tickets to Iowa without setting alarm bells off.

It's so messed up you know? You're fitting a shackle on your best friend's leg while thinking of shopping for a wedding dress. Forget adding insult to injury, you're adding a third degree burn to that injury. Not bad enough she loses the love of her life, but having her be taken by the person she thought to be her best friend? That's magnificent.

It's a wonder you didn't sign onto the A team a long time ago. I never thought Emily finding her again after all those years was the kick you'd need. You'd think Toby's marriage would stiry something but no, nope, that ship had sailed a long time ago, huh? It wasn't the threat of losing Toby forever that got to you, it was the chance to be with her.

You put on a fantastic performance by the way. The stalwart and shocked best friend who's supporting Emily in whatever decision she makes. You really milked that act. You knew there was no contest in her heart; she wanted she. That's why you left those envelopes around, from Mary Drake. You knew the guilt would get to her heart.

The fear of missing out is stronger than love apparently.

So funny how she thanked you in the end, after all that was said and done. Thanking you for your help and support? How ridiculous. You had to really fight to restrain that bilious laughter, didn't you?

But who can blame you after all? You of all people would know just how much she deserved better. You've lived across from Emily for a decade now. There's been no shortage of instances where you've seen her bolt out of Emily's house in tears. You thought it'd be the older girl who'd end up breaking your best friend's heart, all those years ago.

Now you know it's the other way around. It was her that was too good for Em.

You can't believe it took you so long to figure that out.

Now you're sitting there caressing her hair, running your fingers up and down her arm as she sobs into your chest and a hint of that smirk of superiority appears on your lips. Deep down you don't regret any of it, do you?

You wipe the tears off her face before leaning in for a kiss.

You're shameless

You're disgusting

You're a fraud

But all you care about is the feel of her lips against your own and the hint of watermelon in her hair, and how her fingers wrapped around your arm, and pulled you closer to her and the way she held her breath in anticipation before you made your intentions known and how stupid Emily was to ever let this go… to ever let **Paige **go.

She was worth it. She was worth all of it. And if you had to, you know you'd do it all over again.


	2. Random Trope (Trust me, I'm an 'x')

3 pm. It's 3 pm and Emily Fields is officially lost. She tried back-tracking through the woods. She even tried re-tracing her steps but she was totally and irrevocably lost. She knew she shouldn't have come on this hiking trip!

She stopped in a clearing for a while, and drank what little water was left in her canteen. She knew she had to conserve her energy, but she couldn't help wondering if one of these trees would give her a decent vantage point that'd help her find her way home before it got dark.

She appraised the few she saw in the clearing. The sturdiest looking trees only started branching off several feet above her head. There was no way she could reach them. The ones whose branches she could reach looked flimsier and she didn't want to risk trekking through the preserve on a broken ankle or worse.

She cursed herself for getting in this situation. When Alison asked her to meet her somewhere private, as she ran into the forest, her main instinct was to follow her. Little did she know that Alison had hidden behind a tree and doubled back less than a mile away from the parking lot, letting Emily continue to wander through the forest, straying further from the trail with every step.

She was sure Alison had no ill intention. That this was just a prank gone wrong, and that her friends were probably looking for her all day. They might even find her if she stood still long enough. But another part of her worried. This part doubted that they cared enough to look for her, and told her to be strong and get herself out of this situation on her own.

She tried returning to the parking lot but by the time she started heading back, she had already gotten turned around too much, and wound up getting lost again.

So she decided that the more she deviated the more she got lost, and that the best way to be found was just to sit still. She finished her drink and started gathering sticks and rocks, piling them up in the middle of the clearing, hoping she could get a fire started.

It did't take her long to light a spark, and before the day was done, she'd made herself a little lean-to shelter for the night.

She wasn't that far off from a trail however, and before too long, the smoke attracted a passer-by.

"Hey there." She heard a girl call out from across the clearing.

"Hi!" She excitedly called back.

"Are you ok?" Asked the girl as she approached Emily, cautiously. "Cause I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to camp here."

"I uhh... I've kind of gotten lost. I was worried I'd be stuck out here all night. So I -uhh- kind of made a shelter." Emily blushed.

"I see." Said the girl who was now close enough to take in. She wore khaki shorts and a polo shirt, and she had a backpack full of what Emily presumed to be hiking equipment. Her brown hair was in a ponytail and her eyes sparkled in the dimming daylight. She looked like she was in her element. Or at least, the bright smile on her face hinted as much. She bent down and sat by Emily, reaching into her bag and pulling a map of the parklands out.

"We're over here right now" She said, pointing between Shades Creek and the red trail on the map. "Did you come through route 115 or White Haven Road?" she asked, turning her head slightly, cooling Emily's burning neck with her minty breath as she spoke. Emily wrapped her hand around her neck, forcing the hairs on her neck to flatten, and trying to hide the goosebumps in her skin as she pointed at the parking lot near route 115.

"We came through this route and parked here. I remember passing the preserve center with my friends on my way out... I don't remember this wetland though."

"Maybe you came across the creek here then. Or even there. It doesn't matter though. I know how I can get you back, if you want to come with me."

"I'd love to!" Emily insisted, groaning inwardly at how eager she must have sounded, and hoping the pretty girl would brush it off and not see through to her ever-growing crush on her rescuer.

"Great. It's right this way." The girl replied, picking herself up and packing her map away as she led Emily out of the clearing and onto the path from whence she came.

"Don't feel embarrassed. I used to get lost here a tonne too when I first started coming here with my dad all those years ago. Granted I was like, 12, but still." She joked, trying to lighten the mood up between the two of them. Emily blushed even more. "Yeah, well, I uhh, only got lost because I thought I heard a damsel in distress and ran off into the woods to save her." Emily rejoined. Half truth. She ran after a damsel, yes, but not one in distress. Emily groaned as she realized she might have just outed herself a little, but the other girl kept on walking at the same pace, not seeming to have picked up on her insinuation.

"Well, I got lost because I chased this rabbit I thought looked cool, so to each their own, I guess." the girl smirked. If Emily didn't know any better, she'd think she was flirting with her. But she wasn't, right?

"Do you come here often?" Emily broached. She really enjoyed talking to this girl and wanted to know more about her, and now seemed like a good time to get some information out of her.

"I come out here with my dad every other year. We make sort of a thing out of it. My mom used to come too when I was younger but she got fed up with it and now she has a kid-free-day."

"I'm sure my mom would kind of love to have one of those. My dad is stationed in Kuwait right now though and he wont be home again until Christmas, so..."

"He's in the army?"

"Yeah."

"My grandpa Mike was in the army too."

"Cool."

"He'd let me see his army stuff sometimes. Had a bunch of really cool blades and stuff. And awards and everything else too."

"My dad's stuff is in the garage. I'm not really allowed to touch it but I used to break in when I was younger and try things on."

"I bet you looked adorable in your dad's stuff." the girl smirked.

"What can I say? 12 year old me looked pretty badass in those oversized fatigues." Emily joked back. She fell into an easygoing rhythm with this stranger. She didn't know what it was about this girl that made her feel this way but she recognized the feeling. It was like coming home from school after a long day. A feeling of relief. Like some great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Freedom.

Coming up on the right was a waterfall. Emily stopped to re-fill her water bottle and the kind stranger stretched her back and pretend not to stare as Emily splashed some water at herself in order to cool herself off. She reached a hand out as if she needed help, but instead dragged her rescuer into the water with her.

"Sorry, but the water was perfect and I just wanted to share that with you." She explained.

"It is really nice." The other girl blushed as Emily reached over to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm Emily, by the way. I just realized we haven't really properly introduced ourselves yet."

"I'm Paige. McCullers. Paige McCullers." the girl rambled awkwardly.

"Paige. That's beautiful... Paige." Emily repeated, trying to get a feel for how her name felt in her mouth. "Well, Paige. You wanna go for a swim?"

"I didn't bring a swimsuit" Paige frowned, looking down.

"Neither did I" Emily smirked, lifting her shirt up and over her shoulders, removing it completely and throwing it back on the path. She pulled her short shorts off, lifting her legs high enough to keep them from dipping into the creek, and threw them over by her shirt before walking backwards into the swimming hole, beckoning Paige to join her.

Paige swallowed hard. She looked over at the trail. They were definitely hidden from any passers by but their clothes might indicate to hikers that there was someone there. She quickly gathered Emily's clothes, and threw them in her bag along with her own top and khakis, before hanging her backpack onto a nearby tree, and hanging her and Emily shoes beside it.

Emily had gone underwater while this was happening, and missed seeing Paige walk around and climb up the side of the waterfall. She called out her name, looking towards the trail but Paige answered from the direction of the waterfall, barely giving her enough time to turn and see her before she dove into the water beside her, pulling her under the water along with her.

Emily was shocked, but quickly realized what was happening. She reached past Paige and wrapped an arm around her neck, protectively, in order to keep her head from banging or scraping against the rocks on the bottom. Paige smirked at her and Emily shook her head, pulling her closer as they fell under the water, waiting for their combined buoyancy to raise them back up again. Paige sprawled herself out and started swimming up, taking Emily with her and they both burst through the surface of the water together, smiling like fools.

They laughed and splashed along the bank, cooling off in the steamy summer heat. When they were done, they crawled out, Paige cropping up first and helping pull Emily out, like a gentleman, and sat on Paige's picnic blanket while they dried off a bit.

"I missed the water." admitted Paige.

"It's right over there..." Emily broached lightheartedly.

"It's not like it used to be. There's all this pressure now. Swimming used to be fun but now there's all this pressure to do good and get scholarships. I mean, I used to do it because I loved it but now..."

"It's become a chore."

"Yeah."

"I used to feel the same way for a while."

"How did you stop?" Paige asked, turning on her side, facing Emily on the picnic blanket.

"I decided to stop doing it. Stop swimming for them. Start swimming for me. For fun. Not for trophies. It re-awakened my 'passion' for it."

Paige eyes followed drops of water as they trailed down Emily's body as she spoke. From her chin down her neck. From her neck to her chest. Down to her clavicle. Across her belly. She was mesmerized by them.

There was something hypnotizing about them. She was dying to reach across and gather them. She was sure that they were magical. The way they shone in the light made Emily's skin glisten as if she were ethereal.

And for a moment, Paige believed she was a goddess, or a phantasm.

She blinked and the magic was lost. It was like stepping on a crunchy twig and scaring a deer off. All so suddenly. Like the moment something clicks in your head. She picked up her bag and went to change behind a tree. Emily furrowed her brow but she didn't say anything. She waited for Paige to finish putting on her clothes before getting dressed as well, and then she joined Paige on the trail.

They didn't go long before Emily's stomach started to growl. To Emily's dismay, the silence made sure Paige picked up on the noise immediately. So she took a slight detour to pick Emily some blueberries.

"Are you sure they're safe to eat?" Emily asked as Paige washed the berries in the creek for her.

"Trust me, I'm a girl scout."

"A girl scout huh?"

"Yeah, well, I don't want to brag but" she whispered, beckoning Emily closer "I've got all my outdoor badges" she finished, winking. Emily pushed her, playfully as she laughed, and Paige ducked her head down, in a goofy way. Emily found her quirks to be adorable and wished she could tell her so but she was afraid that if she did, she'd lose their easygoing camaraderie.

"These are 'Highbush blueberries'" Paige explained as she finished rinsing the berries "deciduous, they grow pretty high and have these white-ish pink-ish flowers. They fruit in Summer and feed the local fauna. Cultivated by honey-bees and umm... they're really sweet and juicy." Paige summarized as she stood up.

Emily was stood impossibly close to her, and her eyes and lips were near enough to touch. Emily's mouth hung open as she tried to control her breathing and Paige couldn't stop herself from placing a clean berry between her lips. Paige looked down and away, smiling as Emily wrapped her lips around the berry and pulled it into her mouth, biting into it and tasting the sweet juice that flowed from the berry.

Paige shook her head and handed Emily the blueberries before heading back to the trail. Emily smirked as she followed her. She was pretty sure the attraction was mutual now.

"Up ahead is this overlook. You wanna check it out?"

"Yeah, sure" Emily replied

"Sometimes you can see some of the birds of prey that nest nearby. There's hawks and eagles and falcons... I think I even saw an owl once. Either way, it's quite...magnificent." she finished as she looked back at Emily. 'not as magnificent as this view' she thought, but didn't dare utter.

They made their way to the overlook in short time. Emily's eyes lit up as she surveyed the forest she once felt so lost in. She could see it all so clearly now. She looked over and caught Paige staring at her instead. She blushed and looked away again and Emily bit her lip to stop from smiling. She nudged Paige and Paige nudged her back and they took in the view as the sun started to set. It was really a perfect moment. Too bad it couldn't last long.

They were close to the preserve center now. Paige didn't know why but Emily's demeanor started to change the closer they got. She appeared more closed off and her pace slowed considerably. She was walking side by side with her before, but now there was at least a foot or two between them. And her laugh? If Paige had to pick a word to describe it, it would be 'restrained'. Something held her back, and when they reached the center she figured out why.

Alison, her 'friend', sat on a picnic table by a couple of handsome young rangers. She was making a commotion. A real scene. Bemoaning that her friend got lost and claiming that they needed to set up a patrol for her immediately. Three other girls stood to the side, frowning, and exchanging knowing looks of discomfort as Alison laid it on thick, faking deep caring and loyalty towards their missing friend, but they knew better.

The tall one spotted them first and she nudged the little girl beside her. By the time the blonde turned and saw them, Alison had caught wind of what was going on and shifted her performance. As genuine smiles filled Emily's friends' faces, the faker suddenly started the waterworks. She wrapped herself around Emily, like a leech, sooking about being a 'terrible friend' who should have gone after her when she ran off into the woods and gas-lighting her. She made out like Emily ran off into the woods on her own, and Emily rolled her eyes, uncomfortable with all the attention she was suddenly showered in.

Paige stood off to the side and watched. She was apprehensive of Emily's friends and Emily couldn't blame her. She saw her slowly back away out of the corner of her eye and there was nothing she could do to stop her. She wanted to call out to her but she knew if she did it would attract her friends' attention, and she wasn't ready for that yet. She didn't want to share Paige with her friends just yet. She smiled a pained smile as she watched her go and promised herself that the next time they saw each other, things wouldn't end between them in quite the same way.

She remembered Paige.

She remembered her promise, and everything that happened that day. She didn't remember much about that summer but she remembered the way she felt when she played with her in that water, and the excitement in the girl as she picked her those berries and the way her heart pounded inside her chest when she fed her that blueberry. She never forgot. What she did forget was her last name or anything that would help her find her later on.

Her only lead was that she was a girl scout but even if she got someone to hack into their records she wouldn't be any closer to finding her.

Dejectedly, she walked through the halls of her school, all alone on this Friday afternoon. She was absentmindedly dawdling towards the natatorium for the swim team try-outs when someone nudged her all of a sudden. She turned and saw a smile as brilliant as the sun itself. She knew right then that she couldn't let her get away.

"What's your name?" she asked immediately.

"Paige?" she replied, confused.

"Your last name" Emily corrected.

"Oh! McCullers."

"McCullers?"

"Yeah."

"Paige McCullers?!"

"Yes." Paige confirmed.

"Would you walk with me to the swimming try-outs, Paige McCullers?"

"I would love to... Emily...?"

"Fields."

"Emily Fields."

They both laughed and linked arms as they walked towards the natatorium. Just before they walked in however, Emily was struck with a thought. She swiveled Paige towards her, leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"I've been waiting all Summer to do that." she explained as she walked through the natatorium's double doors.


	3. Scent prompt aka Scent of a Woman

Everyone in Rosewood had a unique scent.

Not many people knew this but every single person had their own unique scent.

Some people smelled good. Floral scents mixed with musk. Oatmeal cookies or fruits. Spices like vanilla or cinnamon. Jenna liked those

Jenna was a connoisseur of scents. She could make a map of the scents in Rosewood. Jot them down and follow the trail to wherever she wanted to go.

She could tell each individual shop in Rosewood apart by its scent. The bakery smelled like freshly baked bread and the Brew like Coffee, yes, there were loads of places with strong smells like that, but what few people knew was that the post office smelled different from the supermarket and so on.

And it wasn't just the shops that she could traverse by nose alone, it was certain parts of the school.

The natatorium had a strong odor that could be picked up from rather far. Jenna discovered this on her first day back. She kept poking her cane around the hallway outside the pool, paranoid she'd fall in the water by accident. It wasn't until a swimmer came out of the natatorium, when a strong waft of chloramines drifted towards her and nearly knocked her off her feet.

She was shocked at first but later used that scent to tell apart directions. She knew that the cafeteria was in the center of the school, and that the natatorium was south. So by walking towards the smell of chloramines she was heading South, and by walking away from them, she was heading North.

The Science labs were on the second floor. They had no smell for the most part, unless somebody fucked up and left the burners on. She was the first to notice that sort of thing, of course, and actually managed to win some praise from Mr Glass for preventing a fire once by smelling gas before he lit a match.

There were four sets of bathrooms. Jenna avoided these like the plague. It was a special kind of torture to use the bathrooms at her school. Toby was considerate. He never left the toilet seat up, and he cleaned up after himself, but when she used the school's restrooms she was at everybody else's mercy. And everybody else was not as kind.

She liked being outside in Spring. To smell the flowers and freshly mowed lawns. To breathe in something different for a change. She wasn't particularly adventurous since the 'accident', and thus was confined to just a certain set of smells. Her house, her mother's car, her family, school and the Kristen August Rehabilitation Center for the Blind.

Her olfactory palette felt dull.

People though? They had unique and interesting scents. They made her dreadful existence worth bearing.

The first smell she fell in love with was Toby's. She remembered the sweat dripping off the hairs on the back of his neck and the sour taste of his perfume mixed with his sweat as he helped her and her mother move in. She knew it was wrong but he was the first boy she ever grew close to. She grew up without a dad so she had no idea that that she could feel something for him that wasn't sexual, having learned from her mother at an early age that relationships between men and women are always sexual in nature. Or at least transactional.

Her mother was not a prostitute. No, she was nothing so low-class. She was not a sex worker. She was an opportunist. And when the opportunity arose to care for a grieving husband she jumped at the chance, and slowly jumped out of poverty. She got a job at his office, as his secretary after that and before she knew it, Jenna had a father and a brother.

She never had a brother growing up, and what she knew of men was her mother's 'transactions', so can you blame her for messing everything up?

If she had a time machine, she would go back and change it but she can't. The only thing she can do now is go forward. Try to make ammends. Try to survive. Get out of this shit-hole of a town. And try to fix her eyes.

Her eyes. She hadn't slept a decent night's sleep since she lost her eyesight. It's funny how her dreams trick her. They make her think that she can see again. But by the end of her dreams turned nightmares, she is always blind again. That's why she hated sleeping. She let her guard down and thought for a minute that things could get back to the way they were.

But by morning she was alone again. Just her, her cane and the nothingness. Once again lost in that nothing.

That's what it felt like. Nothing. Like that moment in cartoons, when the coyote steps off the cliff, and there's a grim moment before he falls, when he just stands in mid-air, and there's nothing. No gravity pulling him down and no ground beneath his feet. It's terrifying. Liberating, in a weird way, but utterly horrifying.

She's sitting by the auditorium now. People don't often come here during lunch, and that's why she comes here to eat. Usually it's empty and quiet. But today, the theater kids decided to hold an impromptu rehearsal of "Midsummer Night's Dream" and Hermia's shrill line delivery threatened to puncture her eardrums so she fled.

She found herself drifting towards the natatorium. Normally she'd avoid it because of the smell but there were very few places in this school where she would not be disturbed, and this was one of them. People were as put off by the smell as she was, and she figured no one else would think of eating there. And there probably wasn't enough time in this lunch session for anyone to have a swim so she figured she'd be alone.

Not that she hated people, she loved most of their unique scents. They brought her a little comfort in her misery. But people were loud - especially at lunchtime- and she found being in their company to be overwhelming at times. Today was one of those days she wanted to just shut herself away and sleep through.

She gingerly tapped her cane against the natatorium floor. She had to be extra careful because it was always slippery there. She steadied herself by grabbing onto the side of the bleachers and maneuvered towards a seat. She sat at the edge of the stands and pulled her lunchbox out of her bag. She brown-bagged today. As she bit into her wrap she thought she smelled some peaches but she dismissed the scent and continued eating.

Two bites in however, she was sure she heard the echo of some giggling.

She stood perfectly still and listened for the sound but the only thing that followed the sound of that stifled laughter was a sharp exhalation.

Sure she was no longer alone, Jenna started packing her bags again, until the smell of peaches wafted in again and she heard a voice ask "You're sure we're alone, right?"

She gulped. She could recognize that voice anywhere. It was one of the voices she remembered from her nightmares.

"I checked the pool, I locked the locker room door, we are definitely alone, Paige" said Emily Fields.

The bleachers were near enough to the locker rooms for Jenna to catch the lovers' exchange. Blushing now, she packed her wrap away and starting putting her lunchbox away when the smell suddenly got stronger.

Jenna shot to her feet and started walking away with her bag in her hand. She'd made it halfway past the bleachers when she heard the first splash. Someone had run in and jumped into the pool right across from her. If she didn't hide immediately, when they surfaced they would see her. So she took a sharp right and wedged herself under the first few rows of bleachers, nearly hitting her head on the higher ones.

The peach smell was quickly accompanied by another scent. Was that cream? She heard Emily's laugh before she heard something soft plop down. No, it was honey! Wait, what was that sound? Fabric. Fabric flopping down. Not a lot of it, but a modest amount hit the ground before Emily dove into the water. Oh god, did she just strip down? Was she naked?

Jenna bit her lip as she thought about leaving. Maybe they'd be too distracted to notice her. Lord knows Paige wouldn't be able to look away from Emily, even WITH her clothes on. She thought about leaving but she realized that in her rush she left her lunchbox on the bleacher she was sitting on.

Paige resurfaced to get some air, but one look at Emily took her breath away.

"You are so beautiful." She said. You could hear the adoration in her voice. This girl was absolutely in love. And Emily? Jenna could hear in her reply that she worshipped her right back.

"You are amazing." Emily replied. "You're gorgeous." She said, as she moved in for a kiss "exciting" she said as she kissed her "funny" she continued, kissing her again "cute" another kiss "and so fucking sexy"

Jenna reached across the bleachers but she couldn't get far enough. She tried exhaling and holding her breath but nothing gave her enough leverage. She'd have to come around the side again. She put her cane away and followed the side of the seats. She reached around and grabbed the box, quickly (but carefully) shoving it into her back, as she turned around, flustered, making her way out of the natatorium.

"Did you hear something?" Paige asked as the door shut behind Jenna.

"Mmm, no" Emily mumbled as she continued kissing her neck.

Jenna was shaking by the time she sat down. She was so flustered she was blushing. She was heated. And she was... well. She was human. She quickly pulled out her phone and had Siri call Shana. She was going to skip afternoon maths. She wasn't in the mood for it anyway. What she was in the mood for was her favorite scent of all. The scent of a woman, as she fondly called it.

She'd only seen that movie once in her life. She barely remembered the details but she remembered the gist of it all. Cantankerous blind man meets young man. Both are changed in the process. Also there's a bit where the blind man dances a tango with a beautiful woman. She's not confident enough to dance yet in a ballroom, at least not yet, but in her bedroom? Maybe she could dance with Shana there.

She made her way away from the smell of chloramine and cream and peaches and towards the front of the school. She didn't have to wait long to smell Shana's scent.

Shana's scent was different. It had more depth and character than anyone else's. Maybe it was that she spent more time wallowing in it, and picking up all its subtle nuances. Maybe it was a sign that they were made for each other or something. Jenna didn't know or care why she liked that smell so much. She just knew that she did. She wrapped her arms around Jenna, and Jenna pulled her in, breathing in her scent. It always made her feel more calm.

She sat by her in her convertible and felt the wind graze her face as they drove along the streets of Rosewood. They would be home in just a couple of minutes and Jenna could test out her dancing feet. She hoped her moves weren't too stale, she hadn't danced in a while. But then again it's not like ballroom dancing changes much. Hand in hand, hand on shoulder or hip, box step, a swoop here and there, a dip, twist, some swooning, and the odd lift.

By the time they reached the bed, Jenna was laughing so hard she was in tears.


	4. Unreliable Narrator

It took forever to find inspiration for this but here we go. Set during the season four finale. Starring (of all people) Cece Drake. EndWorldPeas' tugboat analogy made me get up at half past two in the morning and finish this.

"I know what you think. You think I'm lying. You think I made all this up to shift your attention elsewhere but every single word of what I said is true."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You shouldn't. But you will. Because everything I say is gonna check out."

"Start at the beginning."

* * *

"My name-my real name is Charles DiLaurentis. I was born in Radley Sanitarium. My mother and your mother are related. They're sisters -twins even- and your mother took me in when I was born. I didn't really stay with you long because of your father. I always knew I was a girl. I never really felt like 'Charles' or 'Charlie'. When you were born, you had these pretty dresses and stuff. Your mother brought down all these hand-me-downs she stored up in the attic and she let me try them on. For the first time, I felt like I was really me. Like my outside matched what I felt inside. But your father didn't like that. He said 'stop fagging him up!'. When I said I liked it he punished me but I didn't mind. I would sneak up into the attic and dress up like a princess sometimes. It was the only time I felt normal when I was a child. But your father found out and he had me locked up. He said it wasn't normal and he didn't want Jason to be influenced by me and turn into a 'fag' too."

Alison looked down at her father in disgust. Surely the man who raised her and supported her all these years, and even stood by her despite the rumours (some of which were even unfounded) and threats... surely he wasn't this monster she described, but then again, she never really had any cause to suspect he would be supportive of his kids had they been gay because neither of them really turned out that way. So Alison was at a loss for words.

Cece continued her harrowing story, pausing at the appropriate times and turning up the waterworks.

"He said I was disgusting and that I didn't deserve to live and had I not been in their care, he would have drowned me. He said something about your mother drowning a child but I didn't believe him.. But when I found out my own mother was in Radley for drowning a toddler, it all started to make sense."

"What do you mean?" Alison asked. Surely she wasn't implicating her own mother in this mess, may she rest in peace.

"My mother was innocent Ali. Your mom -she was young, she panicked- there was a boy in her care -he was only a baby- and he drowned when she answered the phone. My mom drove by to pick Alison up and Alison told the cops that she was the one who was babysitting that day, and she was the one who neglected the child. Their parents crafted some shoddy defence and when that failed, they pleaded insanity and my mom was placed in the care of Radley Sanitarium."

Alison was rooted to the spot. How could this be true? Was her mother really this heartless monster? She knew she could be ruthless, she'd heard her parents arguing and there was nothing sacred between them. They'd both stab the knife in and twist when they fought, picking one another apart until they were a quivering mess but the next day they'd return to normal as if nothing ever happened. They tore each other down but by morning they were built back up again. She didn't think she was capable of framing her own sister of murder but then again, Alison herself framed Toby of blinding Jenna when it was she who had done it. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, it would seem. And now her family had ruined the lives of not only an aunty she didn't even know existed, but also a cousin as well.

Alison never really had much of a family. Her nuclear family was dysfunctional, and her extended family was too distant (both geographically and emotionally, having been jaded by the breakdown and neglect of their other family members.). She would have really appreciated knowing that she had more family around. She thought it entirely unfair that her brother was related to Spencer and got to bond with her in a way while Alison was out of town, and she had no relatives of her own. No cousins or sisters to mend ties with. Just her brother, who seemed to be unable to afford her any of his trust. Not that she could blame him, after everything she had done, but she was really tired of paying and suffering for the things she did in the past.

"So I grew up in that institution. Locked away from the only family I've ever known. You can see why I took whatever chance I had to get back to you..."

"What do you mean?"

"Jason. I knew he was my age and I should've known better than to seek him out. I don't know if I was really looking for him or just daydreaming again about being a part of the outside world.. having a normal childhood. I wasn't allowed out -Kenneth over there didn't want a freak like me running around Rosewood- so I never went to High School with the rest of you. I wasn't allowed out until I got into college. They couldn't keep me locked up indefinitely and I couldn't attend college from the asylum so I was finally let out for the first time on that fateful day."

"The day you met Jason?"

"He was so handsome and cavalier. I didn't recognise him at first. I flirted with him. Heck, he's gorgeous and he was paying attention to me. How could I ressist? I let him ply me with compliments while I stared bitterly at the photographer. I'd never had any school photos. He was incensed when he discovered that. He had his friends pull some strings and before I knew it, there I was, class of '09, Drama club, prom Queen. I was overjoyed. Until I looked him up and saw his last name. Jason DiLaurentis. I was gobsmacked. Like someone pulled the rug from under me."

"Oh Cece, I'm so sorry."

"I didn't want to hurt him but... I just wanted to spend some time with him. I figured I could control things and not let it get too far but when I saw you all there... the whole family... I remembered what I had been missing."

Cece's eyes filled up with tears. Alison apprehensively took a step towards her cousin.

"That Summer was the best I ever had."

"It was pretty amazing, yeah."

"I knew I shouldn't have gone. I know it wasn't right to trick Jason like that, but it was the only chance I had at being with my family again. I had to take it. I had to lie. But I never wanted to deceive you."

"All these years... you knew you were my cousin and you never said anything? You let me think you were a stranger! You dated your brother!"

"I had no choice! I tried talking to your mother but she said I had to keep up the lie because if your father found out? That I was a woman and that I tricked Jason... she said he'd kill me if he found out!"

Alison stole a glance at her brother and father. Her brother was the one with the more violent demeanour. He used to give her noogies and Indian burns growing up. He had this outcast phase in High School where he used to listen to angry music and get stoned with his friends. The one time she tried to join in on the fun, he shoved her out of his room and blocked the door with a bookcase. Her father had never raised his arms in anger. But what if Cece was telling the truth? Was her father this intolerable monster? How could he be?

"What about my mom? Did you kill her? And why?"

"I never wanted her to get hurt. I was hoping I could get her to change her mind about telling your father. I hoped that helping find you would win me some points in his favor but he didn't seem to think that way. When he found out we knew you were alive he just snapped, Ali. He started throwing things and blaming your mother for hiding you from him. He thought that she was trying to sneak her way into getting full custody of you and then he... he killed her."

"NO! He couldn't have! He wasn't even in town that night!"

Cece reached into a drawer and pulled a couple of receipts out, and handed them to Ali. The proof was there, timestamped and everything. She looked back at her unconscious father. She regarded him with a lot more disdain this time.

"I know it's a lot to take in. We can stop if you want to."

"No. I want to know. Tell me everything."

* * *

Cece didn't finish recounting all her stories until about 2 am. Alison's friends looked everywhere for the pair but couldn't find them. Cece was driving Alison away from Rosewood by the time they found Jason and Kenneth's unconscious bodies. Kenneth denied everything but the girls didn't know if they could believe him. They'd seen and heard everything Cece entrusted Alison with through a live broadcast. Alison had called Spencer before entering the room with Cece, and while her battery did run out, it lasted long enough for the liars to know that Alison went willingly.

They don't know if they'll ever see her again. Perhaps they don't want to. She did run off with the person who'd been torturing them after all. Mona wasn't very happy to discover she had fled the scene. She wanted to keep track of her but Hanna convinced her otherwise. Still, she tried to put a trace on Ali's phone, but found she had discarded it at LAX.

"Wherever she is, she's out of our lives now. And Alison? Well, she's not something you have to worry about anymore."

She supposed Hanna was right. It didn't really matter where they were. Cece had shown her true colours and she could never hide them again after that night. They knew better than to trust her and if they caught wind of her again they'd alert one another, but for now, the best thing they could do to keep their sanity is to move on with their lives.

Kenneth woke first. He denied all of Cece's claims. Jason wasn't any helpful in their quest for truth either. He didn't remember having another sibling, and what he did remember of Cece didn't help the girls. Kenneth dug out old family picture books. The missing pictures were attributed to Jessica feeling self conscious about the weight she'd put on while she was pregnant with Alison. Alison and Jason were the only children in their family photographs, apart from the odd relative here and there.

The girls weren't sure what to believe anymore. Everything Cece said seemed to check out initially but the more they looked the more holes they found in her story. If she was living in Radley, how did she rent that place in town? If she faked her high school yearbook, then how come people like Noel Kahn's older brother remembered her fondly, as if they'd known her for years?

Spencer wanted to look into this more but it was Emily of all people who decided to put the search off. Whatever they did find would no longer be of any help to them. After their Summer vacation they'd all be going to different colleges anyway and if Alison wanted to believe Cece's side of the story then that was her prerogative. It stung that Alison would up and leave with Cece and leave all of them behind after all they'd done for her, but no one felt it more than Emily, who sacrificed so much to keep her safe. The loss of Paige was still fresh in her mind and while she would've felt much safer if Cece was in some cell somewhere, part of her was glad that she was gone. If she was happy with Alison then maybe that would keep her from coming after them again. And she really just needed to put all of this behind her.

There was this period of apprehension following Alison's most recent disappearance. Felt like they were walking on eggshells, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Their parents tip-toed around them and their friends kept their distance for the most part. Hanna hadn't even talked to Lucas in about a month. Then again, he was away at camp. He was old enough to be a councilor now and the only sign that he was still alive were the regular payments he made to Caleb's account, in order to make up for the money he lost him when he gambled away his life savings in senior year. Or was it junior year? It all feels like a lifetime ago anyway.

Aria took up knitting that Summer. Winter was just around the corner she claimed. Spencer received a beanie, Emily a scarf and Hanna a pair of gloves. Mike got a beanie too but he refused to wear it. With money tight seeing as all their families were saving up for college (Except for the Hastings. They were loaded and Spencer spent Summer in Paris), the girls stayed close to home this time around. They went to the beach between shifts at their part time jobs, and the cinema in the afternoons. Mostly they stayed in and listened to music or watched tv.

Paige called a couple of times and asked how Emily was going. She called her mom and friends and eventually caved and spoke to the woman herself. Paige sent Emily a care package filled with her favorite sweets and a mix CD filled with badass female singers. When Emily revealed she was coming to Cali for school, they decided to take things slow and move into separate places. Paige didn't want to rush into anything and fall back into old habbits and Emily understood and respected that. More than that, it was something Emily needed as well, though she stubbornly refused to admit it to herself, let alone anybody else.

Things were rocky between Spencer and Toby. She was going. He was staying. They knew they were heading in different directions. They knew they needed to have a talk. They kept postponing it and working on designing Spencer's College room. Talking about their feelings was hard. Interior design was much more palatable. "Will I see you again?" became "Do you want an area rug here?". "Will you make time to visit?" turned into "Don't you think that lamp should stay here though?". "Are we okay?" "Are the drapes okay?".

Hanna couldn't stop talking. She was so excited to be finally getting out of this garbage town. To get a clean slate in a place nobody knows her name. Nobody looking at her with pity or judging her based on what she used to look like. Caleb threatened to divorce her if she didn't top yapping away on the phone with Mona. She pointed out they weren't married so he drove her to a chapel on an impulse one day. Her mother never let her know how crushed she was to find out she had been excluded from such a monumental occasion in Hanna's life. She took some comfort in knowing that her ex husband wasn't invited either and hid the pain behind a smile. Hanna continued to talk on the phone, and gush about everything. Caleb's fake threats started to sting. She had already been rejected by her father and her first boyfriend, Shawn. She couldn't handle another massive rejection like that. The phone calls became less frequent as a result.

Aria never liked beige. It was something boring people filled their houses with. She told herself she'd never settle for beige. Her life after A wasn't the rainbow parade she'd hoped. Sure, the clouds cleared up and the sky was bright blue again, but eventually she started to feel grey and drab and had to stop herself -physically walk away- when she found herself reaching for a khaki scarf. Khaki was too close to beige. She fell into routine and that was not her style. She was worried things would stay the same forever, but then she realized this is what normal life is like. She doesn't have to look over her shoulder anymore. She doesn't have to tiptoe around abandoned buildings or put herself into any danger to save her friends or choose between two very difficult options, unless she was shopping when she was low on cash. She realized that this was what calm was like... this was serenity. And yeah, it was a little boring but that feeling like she was finally taking a deep breath after running for so many years? She wouldn't trade that for the world. All of a sudden she appreciated khaki. She appreciated bronze medals and mediocrity and beige.

Things didn't last of course. People entered their lives and people left. Some people stayed longer than others. Some people didn't stay at all. The important ones? They got to really enjoy them. Afternoons at the library with Paige, holding hands on the table. Picnics in the park with the whole family became a family tradition after Melissa had her kids. Less important ones? Their leaving only made them stronger. Caleb walking away made Hanna start to live for herself and stop trying to pander to everyone else. Aria leaving Ezra only served to bolster her career. Loads more people passed on - some before their time, like the child that nobody got to hold, or the mother who was driving drunk one night. A lot of people left for good. I'm pleased to report that A was one of them.


End file.
